


Always the Last to Know

by missink97



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Jester/Caleb if you squint, Spoilers C2E18, Spoilers C2E29, Spoilers C2E43, Spoilers C2E50
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-26 12:21:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17745830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missink97/pseuds/missink97
Summary: While sharing a prison cell in Xhorhas, Caleb finally reveals the rest of his backstory to Jester.





	Always the Last to Know

“So, _ja_. Now you know the whole story,” Caleb finished, nervously eyeing Jester. How would she react? Now that she knew how horrible of a person he was, surely she hated him. She stared back at him with tears streaming quietly down her face. With her brows furrowed and her mouth slightly ajar, she looked terrified. Of him, no doubt. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable damnation.  


Instead, Caleb’s eyes flew open in shock as Jester flew forward and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. He was so surprised he barely registered as her face left wet tears and snot on his shoulder.  


“Oh, Caleb,” she cried. “That’s awful.”  


_Was?_ He wanted to say. _What do you mean?_ But he couldn’t get the words out.  


Jester squeezed him tightly and stroked the hair at the back of his head. Caleb’s hands stayed stuck to his knees. The thought of hugging her back didn’t even pass through his head. They stayed that way for a few more seconds before Jester released him. She brought her chair forward and sat closer to him so their knees touched.  


“I don’t understand,” Caleb finally said.  


Jester only looked back at him, confused.  


“I’m a monster. I killed my parents! I’m a terrible person! Why are you looking at me like that?”  


She was frowning indignantly and she had started crying again. She was angry when she should have been horrified. “I don’t think _you_ understand, Caleb. Technically, yes, you killed your parents. Technically. I mean, if someone made me believe that I should kill _my_ mother, I wouldn’t like myself very much either. But you didn’t always want to kill your parents. You were tricked. That guy who told you all of those things? He’s the monster. Not you.”  


“Jester, it doesn’t matter that he told me what to believe. I believed it! I murdered my parents. It shouldn’t matter if I was sane or not. It _doesn’t_ matter.”  


“Okay fine. You killed your parents. But you’re still not a bad person.”  


“How can you say that?!”  


"Because of how you feel.”  


“ _Was?_ ”  


“You have remorse. You know you did something wrong, and you want to do better. Like I said before, bad people aren’t concerned with being bad. Bad people think they are doing the right thing. But you care! Look at everything else you’ve done. You helped save me and Fjord and Yasha. You protected us from Avantika. You helped us reunite Nott and Yeza. You are sweet and clever and you are doing your best to be a good person. Maybe you did some awful things in the past. But I don’t care about that Caleb. I care about _you_ and even if you don’t think you’re a good person, I am positive that you’re not a bad one either. Believe what you like, but you and I both know that the person who killed your parents is not the same person sitting in that chair.”  


Now Caleb was the one crying. Jester gave him a small smile and reached out to pull him forward. She wrapped her arms around him again and resumed stroking his hair. This time Caleb was the one getting Jester’s shoulder dirty, but she didn’t care.  


“Why are you being so nice to me?” he wondered aloud.  


“Because that’s what friends do,” she whispered into his hair. They stayed like that, with Jester stroking Caleb’s hair as he sobbed and trembled, until they both drifted off to sleep.


End file.
